No7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream

BB Creams, you'll be hearing a lot about these this year, you mark my words.  I've used a couple of BB (Blemish Balm - contrary to the name, they're not actually just to be used on troubled skin)-style creams already, and I haven't been that impressed with them to be honest, they've just been tinted moisturisers that someone has slapped the BB label on.

BB Creams are meant to be an all-in-one product, crossing the boundary between skincare and cosmetic, and taking the place of moisturiser, serum, primer and foundation.  So, how does this one from No7 measure up?

Well, the answer is, extremely well, actually.  I have combination skin, oily in some places and dry in others, and  was sent the normal/dry cream to trial, in the shade fair.  As you can see from the above pictures, the No7 BB cream is on the thick side, and on initially squeezing from the tube (you need to shake it first), it  feels very rich and nourishing.

It soon sheers out though:

At first, I thought this was a little dark for my pale skin, but it blends in very nicely, and leaves a very nice sheer, dewy finish.

I've found that the coverage is quite buildable, and it covers my red bits quite nicely, especially if I put a little extra over any particularly stubbornly flushed areas. I don''t really need to powder over it, and I haven't felt the need to put foundation over the top, which is almost unheard of.

Whilst you can use it without serum or moisturiser underneath - I have trialled it both with and without, it was perfectly fine either way - in this cold weather, I do still layer a little (but less than usual)  cream underneath, just for a little added protection from the cold.  That's just my choice though. In summer, I'd probably be happy to wear this entirely alone, it has five star UVA coverage, and contains a factor 15 sunscreen too, which is very handy!

I've found that it lasts very well, and in fact lasts a lot better than foundations costing two or three times the modest price of £12.95. It certainly it stands up to the rigours of driving a desk in my office, so all in all, I'm very impressed!  No flare ups, no scaly patches, no wishing for more coverage.  No zits! I'll be honest, I don't think the tube will last that long - you do tend to use more than you would a normal foundation, as you're using it as moisturiser as well - but at this price, it's quite hard to argue that it's a problem.

And we all know I'm not easily impressed ... 

Full list of ingredients:

The Fine Print: PR Sample
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

I Love My Muff

 

Back in the day, Get Lippie used to be a big fan of Iron Maiden.  Okay, that would be a slight exaggeration, it's probably more accurate to say that Get Lippie was a big fan of Bruce Dickinson.  To this day, I have no idea why*, that fringe!  Although, I've just done a quick Google search and he's ageing rather well.  Ahem ... Trust me, this is all totally relevant.  I'm totally going somewhere on this little trip down memory lane. Well, kinda...  

Anyway, many years ago, Bruce Dickinson released a little-known solo album, and on that album is a song called "Dive, Dive, Dive". It's dreadful.  And it's about ... well, let's put it this way, every single time I see the box for "I Love My Muff" in my bathroom, I get the chorus of that terrible song as an earworm.  Trust me, visions of Iron Maiden at six am aren't this blogger's idea of fun.  Well, not anymore, any way ...


So ... um ... yeah, what is "I Love My Muff" then?  Well, the kit I have (there are two, a blue and the green, and it's the green I'll be talking about today) contains a wash, a spray, a moisturiser, and some wipes, all said to be scented with vanilla, grapefruit and ylang ylang,  said to be perfect for the "muff on the go".


I'm not sure I have a muff that's going places, to be honest. I don't really give the ladygarden that much thought.  I keep it clean, obviously, and I trim the ... er ... lawn once in a while, but I've never really considered giving it it's own four-step beauty regime before.  Can you imagine targeting a product like this at men?  Four products in one box specifically for their dangly bits?  You could call it B'lox Pour Homme, and then charge them £38 for the privilege of not having cheesy testes.  But, if you do do it, I want commission, mmkay?


Now, I'm actually doing the product a disservice here, they're nice products, very nice in fact.  They're vegan and cruelty-free.  They smell nice, but they're not overly perfumed, they're about keeping your "sensitive parts" clean and fresh, so they are not the labial equivalent of Mr Sheen.  Using them is not at all like blasting your shanana with a bit of Pledge and and a baby wipe, they are very, very, gentle, and it is, in fact, an actual pleasure to use them.  It turns what is normally just a routine clean into a bit of a ritual.  My second major gripe (I'll get around to the main one in a second) is with the packaging, as all the instructions say to "lovingly apply to your sensitive parts", which sets my teeth on edge a bit.  If you're going to use "Muff" in the product name, why go all coy on the products themselves?  Stop fannying about, and call a muff a Muff, please.  This is a personal thing though, it's just that the wording is a bit hippyish, and nothing annoys me much more than  ... hippies.


My major, major gripe is the price.  THIRTY EIGHT of your English pounds.  That's a hell of a lot of dosh to keep your vajayjay clean.  The individual products are between £18-22 each, and again, I think that's on the pricey side.  All in all, it's a good product, but, even with my love of expensive fripperies, I can't - quite - justify the price.  I do love the wipes though, they're aces, and if they weren't the best part of a pound each then I'd have a supply on me at all times.

The Fine Print: Not a PR sample, but it was a gift from someone associated with the company.

*Not quite the truth, Get Lippie knows precisely why, but this is a family blog, and we're not at liberty to discuss the matter any further.  AT ALL.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Lipstick of the Week - Red

 Last week, I set myself the challenge of only wearing red lipstick for the next seven days.  Here's how I got on:

Clockwise from bottom:


Smashbox Limitless Lipstain in Sangria - this is a beautiful deep, deep red stain that doesn't turn fuchsia on the lips, I love it, but wish it lasted longer. It's not a real stain in the way most others are.
Chanel Rouge Allure in Flash - A limited edition Chanel lipstick from many (too many to mention) years ago, this is covered in silver leaf, but it's a deep blood-red underneath, and this is the lipstick most responsible for my red lipstick addiction in the first place.
Benetint - Possibly the best known product from Benefit.  On it's own, it's a cool rose shade, but, I layered it with the Benetint Balm right next to it to deepen the colour.
Ila in Arabian Knights - A rich deep red balm.  I love it, and wear it very, very often.
Guerlain Rouge G in Geisha - The lipstick that is responsible for my obsession with Rouge G's generally.  The perfect packaging, the glorious texture, and this is a beautiful bright, bright red.
Korres Lipgloss in Cherry - Perfect for red-haters, this is a light cherry red gloss, it wears pretty well, and doesn't dry my lips out.

Here are swatches, with flash, and without:

Different reds for different occasions there - did you join me in wearing red this week?


Next week: PINK.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Slight Change to Lipstick of the Week ...

Source

It is so difficult for a blogger to get motivated in January, it's dark when you leave for work, it's dark when you get home from work, and the light is so horrific for photos that half the time it is not even worth taking any!

So to brighten up my life a bit, I'm going to go through my make up collection a bit more, and do slightly different things with it.  Last year, I started doing "Lipstick of the Week" posts, highlighting what I'd been wearing the previous week, and they were hugely popular, so I'm going to keep doing them this year, but, to keep myself interested, I'm going to set myself little challenges, or have themed weeks.

I have close on 500 lipsticks/glosses/balms/stains and I really should use more of them!  This week's theme (if you can't tell from the pic) is ...


RED. 

I'll only be wearing red lipstick this week.  But I'll be wearing it every day this week!

If you want to join in, send me pic of yourself wearing your brightest/favourite red lipstick and I'll feature the best ones on the blog this Sunday, or, if you're shy, you can leave me a comment suggesting themes or challenges in the comments on this post today.  Here's to red lips!

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

My 8 Week Challenge with Phillips ReAura

This innocuous looking bit of kit is a laser. Or, as Dr Evil* might have it, a "lay-zor".  Actually, it's a home facial re-surfacing gadget from Philips, and it's called a Re-Aura.  Retailing at just shy of £800, this has been in my beauty cupboard for the few weeks since it arrived. 


Because, I am, quite frankly, terrified of the flipping thing.


But, I am a woman of my word and I went through all manner of pre-purchase checks before I signed up to use it, and so I WILL be using it twice a week for the next eight weeks.   Actually, I have to admit to being very impressed with Phillips' service in this matter, they ask you - and anyone else intending to use the system, whether a blogger or not - a lot of questions before they'll let you have one.  A little about your medical history, a lot of questions about your skin and a few questions about your routines, they're very thorough, and extremely good at preparing you for what lies ahead.


The Re-Aura is a form of laser dermabrasion, and the Philips website states that it reduces fine lines, evens skin tone and smoothes the texture of your skin.  It's said to be very good for skin that has pigmentation marks from the sun.  I've read some remarkable testimonials, and so I'm going to give it a go.


Only, not on my face.  I have an inkling that it'll be too much for my delicate little noggin, so I'm going to be using it on my decolletage.  I met with leading dermatologist Dr Nick Lowe a couple of years ago, and he mentioned that if I was a client of his, the first thing he'd deal with is the sun damage that I have in that area (which I've felt self-conscious about ever since, thanks, Doc!), but he didn't give me any idea how to go about fixing it myself, so this is how I'm planning to sort it out!


You use the Re-Aura twice a week, the instructions seem pretty straightforward, and I've been warned - extensively - about what the possible side effects are.  I've just realised, however that this means you'll be subjected to pictures of my chest every week for the next couple of months.  Sorry about that ...




The Fine Print - Why yes, this is a PR sample.

* True story, when MrLippie and I met, it was on a website where my screen-name was "Only Slightly Evil".  He can't say he wasn't warned.  I'll zap him ifhe steps out of line.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

My Holiday Makeup Bag

I like to travel light when I go away - in December I was away a fair bit, and these were the bits and bobs I took along with me:

Here we have Le Metier de Beaute eyebrow pencil, Tom Ford eyebrow pencil, Makeup Forever eyeliner No19, DJV Beautenizer Volume Lash mascara, Clinique Lip Smoothie, Becca lipstick in Giselle, Chantecaille lip chic in Tea Rose, Paul and Joe face powder, Nars blush in Sin, and on the top, Le Metier de Beaute eye kaleidoscope in le Cirque, Chantecaille tinted moisturiser in Glow, and Nars Concealer in honey.

Here's a look at the shades:

And with flash:

I find with this kit I can accomplish a number of looks, from polished neutrals, to smokey eyes, to barely there.  In particular I love the le Cirque palette, as it always looks polished, and always gets compliments whenever I wear it - however I apply it!

As for brushes, I like to keep those to a minimum too:

One blush brush, three eyeshadow brushes, and one powder brush.


What do you pack to take away with you?


Oh, there are some full reviews of some of these products coming up soon, do let me know if there's anything you want to see.


The Fine Print - mixture of PR samples and purchases.  But mainly purchases.  These are mainly the products I can't live without ...
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Tom Ford Nail Polish - Bitter Bitch

I splashed out a bit before Christmas, and went a bit crazy at the Tom Ford counter - admittedly, going a bit crazy at the Tom Ford counter can be very hurtful on the old wallet area, but sometimes you just have to, don't you?  I looked at the lipglosses, and simply couldn't decide which I wanted, but I knew I just had to have a nail varnish.  I picked Bitter Bitch (in spite of the name), because I don't have many brown polishes, and this looked like a a nice rich one.

And it is:

A warm brown with reddish tints, I figured this would be a great shade for my new - shorter - nails.

With flash:

Natural light: 

It applies like a dream - the brush is slightly too long for my short nails, which can lead to pooling, but applied carefully, this is great, great polish.  The square lid on the top is removable:

Making for easier application.


It's a creme finish without a hint of shimmer, and three coats makes for a delicious finish:

And again with flash:

Best of all, this stuff wears like iron!  The first time I applied it, it survived cooking Christmas dinner for ten, and was one for the best part of a week without showing any major chippage, but this was with three thin coats.  I've applied it since with just two thicker coats, and it has shown signs of chipping, minor signs, but still.


So, at £25 a throw, they're pricey.  But, as I never reapply the same nail varnish twice in a month, and I've had this one for the best part of a fortnight now (with a two-day break for some Pasha from Zoya - as you can see in the second picture), I think you can safely say that it's love ...


The Fine Print - Purchase.  I bought this AND something else (coming soon), I think I was bamboozled by some unexpectedly good service at the Tom Ford counter in Selfridges ...


This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

By Terry - Rouge Terrybly 203 Fanatic Red & 304 Cherry Cherry

First off, Terrybly is a dreadful, dreadful, dreadful name for a diffusion range of cosmetics.  Especially a diffusion range that is, in actual fact, more expensive than the original line ...

Right, that off my chest, lets have some lipstick porn, for these are the most beautifully packaged lipsticks in all of creation:

These are gorgeous, weighty and glamorous to carry around, particularly in their little silk bags. So, what are the shades like?  Here you go:

 And with flash:

Yes, I went for brights, and what beautiful brights they are.  A wonderous deep blood-red and fuchsia.  Ah, fuchsia, how I've missed you and your hard to spell ways ... I love the retro-80's nature of the fuchsia shade!  I had this one applied at an event before Christmas, and immediately had to ask the team to open up the tills so I could purchase one ... I'm easily led, what can I say?

Natural Light:

And with flash:

These are very emollient - By Terry wax lyrical about "Lumilip" technology on the packaging, without, of course, mentioning what it is, but I think it has something to do with rubies.  These shades do, in fact, have a glow about them, and I enjoy wearing them a great deal.

However, they cost £31 each, which is on a par with Tom Ford (£36), so are they as good?  Well, yes and no, to be honest.  On the packaging side, I'd say the Rouge Terrybly win.  I know everyone goes on about the click of the Tom Ford lipsticks when you close them, but I don't think they're particularly inspiring personally, nice, yes, but ... I prefer the Terrybly.  When it comes to performance, well, Tom Ford wins hands down.

When I bought these lipsticks, I was told that they wouldn't wear off, they were longlasting, and wouldn't leave a ring of doom.  Well, all of these claims are untrue.  They're no more longlasting than any other lipstick, and they do wear off within a couple of hours of applying (you'll be finding lipstick stains on everything for days afterwards), and as for a ring of doom, well ... RING OF DOOM might be better putting it!

Serves me right for listening to a pushy sales assistant, I guess.  More fool Get Lippie.

All that said, I do like these lipsticks a great deal, they're moisturising, and they're wonderful colours in great packaging, but they're not a groundbreaking formula, they have average (very average) staying power and aren't really any better than other lipsticks in their price range, but they are pretty.  Very pretty ...

The Fine Print: Purchases.  Lovely, lovely not-at-all longlasting, impulse purchases.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Estee Lauder Cyber Eyes Collection

It seems Estee Lauder are continuing their innovation in eyeshadows into the new year, and their first collection by Tom Pecheaux this year is Cyber Eyes, a collection of six "tribryd"* gelee eyeshadows, four mascaras, and six eyeliners.   I selected a few to get a feel for the collection:

Here you can see Cyber Copper, Cyber Pink and Cyber Green eyeshadows (the other available shades are Cyber Teal, Cyber Lilac and Cyber Silver) with Blackened Cocoa and Blackened Plum Eyeliners.  The other shades of liner are Electric Teal, Blackened Olive, Blackened Sapphire and Blackened ... um ... Black ...

Here are the shades with flash:

The shades are beautiful, as is the product in the pan. The Cyber Eyes shadows are a creme/gel/powder, which lends them to being used either wet or dry.  Used dry, you get a beautiful sheen, and a complex shade on the skin:

They are easy to blend and last extremely well on the skin with or without primer beneath.

Applied wet, you can see how the colours deepen, and gain a lovely metallic finish:

 Even the pink, which applies a little more sheerly than the other two shades.  

The pencils are a real treat, being both densely packed with pigment, and very, very soft and easy to blend.  I think, if it came down to it, I'd say the pencils were the best part of the collection, but it'd be a very close-run thing.

Here are swatches of both Blackened Plum and Blackened Cocoa:

Plum is at the top and cocoa is at the bottom.  Blackened Cocoa is lovely, but I'm a little disappointed with the Plum,  it's a little more of a navy blue with a hint of purple than a plum, which is nice in itself, but it's not the shade I was expecting from the name, I always think plum should be on the redder side of purple than the blue.  That aside, these are lovely, lovely pencils, soft, smudgeable and unbudgeable.

MrLippie and I had a bit of a giggle over the name of this collection, as there's very little "cyber" about it (and hey, "Blackened Black", really?  How much more black can it be?  Answer: none, none more black*), and it has to be said that with the exception of Cyber Green, the shades themselves aren't hugely original choices, but these are lovely, glorious glowing eyeshadows and I can see I'm going to get a lot of wear out of them.

Cyber Eyes Shadows are available now, and cost £19 each.  The liners cost £16 each.  Some of the shades are limited edition though, so you'd better get your skates on ... 


The Fine Print: Cyber samples, through the interwebs.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Haircare Gadget of the Year

Haircare gadgets and I do not get along.  I'm both a cack-handed muppet, and lazy.  Very, very, very lazy.  I do, in actual fact, own a hairdryer, but I've no idea where it is at the moment. In 2011, I practically gave up using all heated appliances on my hair (even my beloved Cloud Nine's have taken a little break over the last six months or so), because I'm both that lazy, and that cack-handed.  Because of my commitment to the blog though, I continued to trial and test gadgets, and there was only one I used more than twice.

These:  

 

Enrapture Extremity Heated Rollers.


To say I fell for these would be a mild understatement, I fell big, and I fell hard.  These are your average muppet's daydream for glamorous hair, needing not even the slightest bit of hair-styling talent to be able to use them.


The secret is in the clip, metal-lined so they heat up alongside the roller, and ensure that your hair is heated from both inside and outside the curl you've formed on them.  Oh, and the clips ensure they stay in place too - I've had horrific trouble with velcro rollers slipping out, and rollers with pins are, well, painful, lets face it.


I also discovered that it doesn't matter how haphazardly you position them, either, you always end up with wonderful bouncy, shiny, glamorous hair.


Anything that can take my hair from looking like:

It's not dry, it's frizzy, I got caught in a rainshower before I took this pic!

To looking like:

(Um different room, and I'd finished applying my makeup...)

In about 20 minutes without my a) having a nervous breakdown or b) burning myself can't be all bad ...




This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.